Belisarius Cawl
Summary Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl was already old at the birth of the Imperium, over ten thousand years ago. During that span of ages the Tech-Priest has served Mars and the Machine God as a Forge Lord and a Lexico Arcanus, but it is in his role as Magos Biologis that Cawl’s greatest mastery lies. It is rightfully said that the aged Archmagos Dominus has forgotten more knowledge, particularly about genetics, than all but the most studious could ever hope to learn. Despite his own memories being stolen – twice has Cawl suffered mindwiping – he remains a tech-savant, a genius at the forefront of whatever field to which he turns his mind. Even amongst the ranks of the Adeptus Mechanicus – where artificial devices increase brain capacity and extend life beyond measure – such an accumulation of knowledge in multiple disciplines is exceedingly rare. The Priesthood of Mars title such beings as Prime Conduits of the Omnissiah, or as Dominatus Dominus – Master of Masters – and of those few that still survive, Cawl is by far the most active. Archmagos Dominus Cawl dedicates himself to a multitude of projects, his mind leaping from the construction of Mars’ largest Macromag-cannon, to perfecting his stasis field work, or to the endless experiments he conducts within his city-sized laboratories housed in Mars’ extensive underground complexes. The majority of these obsessive undertakings are done in secret. Cawl has so many projects running simultaneously that he has added multiple consciousnesses to track them and employed furtive measures to keep them hidden from rivals. Deep in sealed vaults, countless experiments await Cawl’s multi-faceted servo-eyes. Since reloading a portion of his stored memories, the ancient Tech-Priest has become forgetful, prone to spending recuperative decades within his own stasis crypts. Yet such prolonged periods offline inspire Cawl to once more take to the field in his hunt for knowledge. It is during such times that Cawl dons the mantle of Archmagos Dominus, gathering about him Skitarii Legions and maniples of the Legio Cybernetica. Although Mars is his home world, other forge worlds often place troops beneath Cawl’s command, asking only that he shares any knowledge accumulated. Powers and Stats Tier: At least High 6-C, likely higher. Far Higher with Solar Atomiser Name: Belisarius Cawl Origin: Warhammer 40,000 Gender: Originally Male, though cybernetic modifications have long rendered him completely genderless Age: Over 11,000 Years Old (Was alive when the Emperor was first developing the Space Marines) Classification: Archmagos Dominus of the Adeptus Mechanicus Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Genius Intelligence, Enhanced Senses, Immortality (Types 1, 3 and 6; Cawl absorbed the intelligence core of his master, Aspertia and gained the knowledge of cloning allowing him to keep resurrecting in a new body), Regeneration (Through Self-repair mechanisms), Weapon Mastery, Technopathy / Soul Manipulation (Can affect, control and rip apart Machine-Spirits), Force-Fields / Attack Reflection, Energy Manipulation, Electricity Manipulation, Statistics Amplification, Invisibility, Biological Manipulation (Cawl can create clones). Attack Potency: At least Large Island level, likely higher (Can reduce a super-heavy tank to coiling wisps of steam). Far Higher with Solar Atomiser Speed: Unknown Movement Speed, At least Hypersonic+, likely FTL 'Combat & Reaction Speed (To an Archmagos Dominus, the secrets of the battlefield are laid bare. They can track every bullet’s ballistic trajectory in slow motion, and process every las-pack’s current capacity and every battle engine’s optimal fire solution. Belisarius Cawl himself is capable of processing and cogitating billions of different tasks and algorithms simultaneously, and should be superior the Mechanicus Magos capable of processing information and running calculations in timeframes of microseconds or even nanoseconds) 'Lifting Strength: Unknown Striking Strength: At least Large Island Class, likely higher Durability: At least Large Island level, likely higher Stamina: Virtually endless. Range: Extended Melee Range with Omnissian Axe. Up to Kilometers with Ranged Weaponry Standard Equipment: *'Solar Atomiser:' The Solar Atomiser is an exotic weapon used by Magos Belisarius Cawl. Using a complex focussing array of Cawl’s own design, this weapon concentrates thermic energy and melta-waves into a short-ranged but utterly unstoppable blast that can melt through an enemy war engine in seconds. *'Arc Scourge:' The raw might of the motive force dances between the splayed claws of the Arc Scourge. A potent weapon of technobanishment, this weapon is designed to target Heretic war engines and exorcise their Machine Spirits with jolts of agonising lightning, disrupting their electronic and mechanical systems. *'Master Crafted Omnissian Axe:' A holy icon of the Cult Mechanicus, the Omnisian Axe or glaive is granted to adepts who have shown their faith to the Machine God in battle. These fearsome weapons have no equal amongst power weapons and are only gifted to tech-priests by their superiors. Saw-toothed and marked with sacred equations they are forged with the finest materials and use secrets of tempering and field generation. To the followers of the Machine God, the bearer of an Omnisian glaive is a most blessed figure, a furious incarnation of the Machine God's power in war. *'Mechadendrite Hive:' Hissing and slithering like a nest of mechanical snakes, the Mechadendrite Hive engulfs the foe in dozens of steel tendrils. Lashing, stabbing and throttling, the mass of Mechadendrites bloodily disassembles its victims with horrific speed. *'Refractor Field:' Considered essential by many lesser Tech-Priests, the refractor field distorts the image of the wearer with a shimmering cloak of energy. Incoming attacks that strike the field will be refracted into multispectral bursts that dissipate into harmlessness. . The field, although less reliable than that generated by a Rosarius, can stop even the most powerful directed energy attacks, such as Lascannon and Plasma Gun fire. *'Scryerskull:' The Adeptus Mechanicus take the assessment and exploitation of battlefield resources very seriously indeed – so much so that many of them continue their work in this role beyond the point of death. as Servo-skulls dedicated to tactical analysis, transmitting a torrent of binharic code outlining battlefield strengths and weaknesses back to their masters. *'Cawl Inferior:' Cawl Inferior was a digital construct that Cawl used to carry out a variety of tasks so that he could remain focused on what he deemed more important. Among the labours carried out by Cawl Inferior was the Archmagos' communications with others, including Roboute Guilliman. The Primarch worried that the construct was actually a form of forbidden Artificial Intelligence, and was indicative of Cawl's increasing willingness to dabble in tech-heresy. Intelligence: Supergenius. Belisarius Cawl possesses multiple cybernetic enhancements in his brain, allowing him to process and store information with the speed of a super-computer. Can analyze and directly interact with all manner of technology, and his enhanced memories allows him to store mountains of information in bhinaric code-stacks. Has been alive for over 11,000, and personally aided the Emperor of Mankind in the development of the Adeptus Astartes' Black Carapace. Created the Primaris Space Marines, improving on the Emperor's work. Has invented dozens of weapons, uncovered scores of STCs, and quested for knowledge across the galaxy, even once venturing into the Eye of Terror. Has helped drive hundreds of minor Xenos species to extinction, and possesses the chematic details of wonder-engines lost since the Age of Technology. Is constantly working on numerous innovative secret projects at once, and has implanted multiple secondary Artificial Intelligences in his mind to allow him to better process all the information he possesses, and to constantly execute multiple tasks at once. Possesses numerous personality filters installed in his augmented mind, allowing him to shift through moods and dispositions as easily as a normal man chooses between different pieces of clothing. Can understand the "mathematics of noospheric data exchange packets in a virtual, nine-dimensional informational manifold exchange", whatever that is. Weaknesses: Almost completely insane. His vast accumulation of knowledge over his millennia of life have resulted in malfunctions, erasures and jumbled bibelots in his memories, leading to Cawl forgetting how he came to acquire large portions of his knowledge, and losing recollection of many events in his life. Requires the aid of multiple Artificial Intelligences to properly think and remain focused on a single task. Notable Attacks/Techniques: *'Canticles of the Omnissiah:' The disciples of the Omnissiah incant complex war-blessings, as much optimisation subroutines as they are expressions of faith in the Machine God. **'Incantation of the Iron Soul:' Raising their voices in binharic praise, the Disciples of the Machine God bolster their spirits with the surety of iron. **'Litany of the Electromancer:' Summoning the spark of the Machine God’s divinity that burns within them, the Omnissiah’s faithful manifest blazing auras of energy that lay low the unbeliever. **'Chant of the Remorseless Fist:' In spitting out a staccato chant to the Motive Force, the faithful warriors of the Cult Mechanicus are filled with merciless surety as well as intent. **'Shroudpsalm:' Robot, servitor and priest shift their binharic emissions into visible spectra, the static pouring from their vox-grilles manifesting as an electromagnetic storm that hides them from the foe. **'Invocation of Machine Might:' The Tech-Priests lead their flock in a hexadecimic prayer that sends miraculous strength surging through tendons, wires and pistons. **'Benediction of the Omnissiah:' Those blessed enough to comprehend this blaring vox prayer find their targeting reticules guided by the Omnissiah’s own vigilance. *'Masterwork Bionics:' Automedicae subroutines and alchymic regeneration elixirs complement Belisarius Cawl's extensive suite of bionics. To him, human flesh is an anachronism, the sad legacy of a civilisation whose time has come and gone. Syringe-tipped limbs and clacking mechadendrites extrude from his cybernetic physique, stabilising severe wounds even as battle rages all around. *'Feel no Pain:' Belisarius Cawl's numerous bionic augmentations have made him more machine than human, giving him little to no sensation of pain, allowing him to fight at full vigour despite fearsome wounds. *'Static Psalm-code:' Using ancient hymn-code cant, Cawl broadcasts with increased power. Blessed is he that walks with the Omnissiah. 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